IAN WATT YALETOWN VANCOUVER

The Home Owner Grant

Blog by Ian Watt | May 28th, 2007

The Home Owner Grant

The Home Owner Grant is available to individuals who are Canadian citizens or Landed Immigrants and reside permanently in
British Columbia
. A homeowner is entitled to the grant if he/she occupies an eligible residence as his/her principal residence. The grant is not automatically given, it must be applied for each year.

Grant Expanded for 2007: More Low-Income Seniors
Now
Eligible

British Columbia has expanded the Home Owner Grant Program to ensure low-income seniors receive the full benefit regardless of the value of their home.

The Home Owner Grant is extended to some low-income seniors, veterans and persons with disabilities whose homes are assessed at more than $950,000 for 2007.

To find out more, please call 250 356-8904 in Greater Victoria, or toll-free 1 888 355-2700 from anywhere in
British Columbia
.

Please note that you will need to submit a completed application form to the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue. Your application will be processed and, if you qualify under the expanded Home Owner Grant Program, you will receive a cheque for the grant as quickly as possible.

The Home Owner Grant Administration Unit was created to improve the administration of this property tax relief program. It's role is to:

provide direction and support to the Tax Collectors;

maintain a province-wide record of all grants claimed to facilitate an audit verification;

review decisions of the Tax Collectors;

ensure that all grants are paid to eligible claimants only; and

recover public funds for grants wrongly claimed.

Tax Collector/Tax Jurisdiction

A Tax Collector is the person who collects taxes in each municipality, town or city. The Surveyor of Taxes in the Property Taxation Branch is the Tax Collector for all rural areas in the province. The Tax Collector approves or denies grant applications. The applications are included with the annual property tax notices which are mailed to property owners each year. Applications are subject to further audit by the Home Owner Grant Administration Unit.